election impact

JFK’s nephew is taking on Biden and Trump as an independent. He’s a big outsider but his high polling numbers are worrying the main parties, who fear that his bi-partisan policies could steal votes.

Sarah, Anthony and Marianna talk about who RFK Jr is, why he’s running, and if he lives up to his reputation as one of America’s most famous conspiracy theorists. And they get to the bottom of how he came to have a dead worm in his brain.

HOSTS: • Marianna Spring, Disinformation & Social Media Correspondent • Sarah Smith, North America editor • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent

GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast

US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s new BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155

This episode was made by Chris Flynn with Rufus Gray, Catherine Fusillo, and Claire Betzer. The technical producer was Hannah Montgommery. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Following the start of Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York, we answer your questions on how Joe Biden could handle his main challenger’s legal woes.

And, Democrats are worried about the threat posed by Robert F Kennedy's Jr's run for office. But could Kennedy's campaign also be a threat to Donald Trump? We assess his chances and take look at another less conventional third-party candidate.

HOST: • Sarah Smith, North America editor

GUEST: • Miles Taylor, former chief of staff at Department for Homeland Security

GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast

US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s new BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155

This episode was made by George Dabby with Catherine Fusillo. The technical producer was Philip Bull. The series producer is George Dabby. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

This episode contains mention of sexual assault. 

Kansas this week became the first U.S. state since the fall of Roe v. Wade to put the question of abortion directly to the electorate.

The result was resounding. Voters chose overwhelmingly to preserve abortion rights, an outcome that could have important political reverberations for the rest of the country.

Guest: Mitch Smith, a correspondent covering the Midwest and the Great Plains for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The defeat of the ballot measure in Kansas was the most tangible demonstration yet of a political backlash against the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe.
• The result relied on a broad coalition of voters who turned out in huge numbers and crashed through party and geographic lines.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

It’s Election Day. We’ll discuss why the Democrats deserve to lose. Also, is voting a civic duty even for uninformed and oblivious people? And we will follow up on a discussion from yesterday about a teacher who punched one of his students. Finally, I have a cautionary tale that every married man needs to hear. Date: 11-06-2018

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